


High Counter

by heavensabove



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Unbelievably, castor makes everything okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 12:48:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20528300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavensabove/pseuds/heavensabove
Summary: The night of October 4 goes very differently.





	High Counter

He goes there ready to die.

There are lots of people who try their hardest to stall the inevitable. To deny the obvious. They like to form happy little bubbles and trap themselves inside, pretending that everything is alright - right up until reality shows up and bursts through their delusions.

Shinjiro isn't one of them, has never been one of them, and that's made his life - shitty as it is - that much more bearable.

Even all the moments where he allowed himself to be happy, to laugh, to smile, to form bonds and friendships, he never let himself forget. Hung on to every painful cough, never tried to escape the heat of the kid's hateful glares.

It doesn't matter if it's here and now, or a few years later.

He accepts everything. It's what he deserves.

"Today, mom is watching over me." There's a fire in Ken's eyes, and it's not something an 11-year-old should have, but then whose fault is it that he does? "I'll make you remember what you did to her! I'm gonna kill you!"

Shinjiro stays quiet after that for a minute, studies the kid's face. Then he says, "Do it."

It's Ken's turn to be quiet, and he's grinding his teeth. Did the kid expect him to beg for his life? Go down on his knees and grovel?

"You're right." Shinjiro continues, "You're right, I wanted to forget. That's why I left the group and wanted to suppress my power." He stops a bit, lowering his eyes, "But nothing I did could erase the memory. And now I find myself here. The last place I want to be."

Ken still doesn't say anything, but his grip on his spear tightens. He's probably sick of words already, but there's something he needs to know before he can have his revenge, as willing as Shinjiro is to hand it to him on a platter.

"It's my fault. This is what I deserve. But..." Shinjiro lifts his head and meets Ken's eyes, "Let me give you one warning."

The boy's confused then, brow furrowing. "Warning...?"

"If you decide to take my life...you'll end up like me. Just remember that."

Ken scoffs, maybe considering this Shinjiro's attempt to save himself. It _does_ come off like that, and he supposes anybody who doesn't know him well enough wouldn't realize he's not the kind of person who would ever pull something like that.

"Is that supposed to change my mind?!"

"Even if all you have now is hatred, one day you'll regret it."

"That's a load of crap!" Ken spits, and his knuckles are white from gripping his spear so tightly. He's not going to listen, so Shinjiro decides not to try anymore.

Better to get it over with.

"He is correct."

Shinjiro stiffens, recognizing the voice immediately.

Ken whips around to face the intruder, and falters, anger and determination bleeding away from his expression to be replaced with confusion again.

Takaya has that same smile on his face, slight, sardonic and almost a sneer. "There is no reason for him to feel regret. That is the nature of revenge." He shifts his gaze to Shinjiro, "Is it not permissable to kill those who are themselves killers?"

There's a sinking feeling in Shinjiro's stomach. "...You." He says, and he doesn't know what else to say after it.

Takaya's smile disappears. "The loss of Chidori has posed a bit of a challenge for us." His eyes narrow, and his hand reaches for something at his waistband. "But...we cannot simply ignore your meddling."

Shinjiro's hands tighten into fists when he realizes what Takaya's got in his hand. Not an evoker - an actual revolver. The click echoes in the empty alley.

His body springs itself a few steps forward without his conscious effort, panic building. "What?!"

"You cannot defy fate." Takaya says, his voice hollow, "You shall die. Whether or not it is at the hand of this boy."

Shinjiro falls silent again, expression darkening. Takaya continues. "You've been taking those pills for some time now. You don't have much longer."

Ken's mouth drops open in shock. "What's he talking about?!"

Shinjiro doesn't know how to reply. He's known the truth for a while, and in all fairness he should just say it. But the expression on Ken's face forces the lie out of him. "That's bullshit!"

Takaya shakes his head. "Listen to your body. You know it to be true."

"What does he mean? You're going to die...?" Ken hold on his spear loosens, and he sounds devastated. Shinjiro looks away. "No matter what I do?"

Goddammit, he hates Takaya. Loathes him, despises every single cell he's made out of. Shinjiro recalls all the times the bastard was within arm's reach - pills and money changing hands - and wishes he had reached out and snapped his twig neck.

Not too late, he can do it now, he just has to dodge a bullet.

"...Besides, the breath of life is faint in you as well, child."

Shinjiro snaps out of his rage when those words leave Takaya's mouth.

"After killing him, you were planning to join him, were you not?"

He probably looks like a fucking cartoon. Eyes wide as saucers, jaw nearly unhinged.

Ken lowers his gaze, mouth quivering.

Shinjiro wants to say something, like "You fucking dumbass" or "You stupid piece of shit" or "Why?!" but he can't find the strength.

And Takaya is the more pressing issue. "Since you are both destined to perish, allow me to do the honors." The sound of the revolver being cocked is still jarring, and Ken flinches. "A slight change in timing shouldn't matter too much."

The rage rushes back into him, but a twinge of fear accompanies it this time. Shinjiro grits his teeth, eyes flashing, muscles drawn taut. Something inside of him begins to shift, and there's a growling, rumbling voice in his head.

He can't allow anything to happen to Ken.

He can't allow Takaya to get away with this shit.

"Go to hell!" He yells, and springs forward, power rushing through his body, enveloping him, wrapping around his mind.

Takaya shoots.

There's a sharp, loud noise.

Ken gasps, spear clattering to the ground.

For a moment, Shinjiro wonders where the hell the pain is.

Getting shot in the chest should hurt, right? Or is his brain not registering it because Castor is overwhelming it with his loud-ass laughter?

Wait, why is Castor laughing?

Shinjiro shakes his head to clear it and struggles to hold himself up on his elbows so he can look at his wound.

Or look at where the wound should be.

His beloved coat is intact over his turtleneck, no sign of tearing or blood.

What the hell?

Shinjiro scrambles to his feet and looks at Ken, who is staring wide-eyed at something past him. He follows the boy's stare.

Holy shit.

Takaya isn't standing anymore, and his gun is lying a few feet from his twitching body. He coughs, face twisted in pain, blood seeping out from a bullet wound in his chest.

The bullet wound that should've been in Shinjiro's chest.

"What the fuck?" He whispers, glancing between Ken and the struggling Strega leader. "What happened?"

Ken doesn't reply at first, not realizing that the question is directed at him. When Shinjiro asks again, he blinks.

"Um..." He begins unevenly, shaking his head, "Y-you were shot...he shot you but...I don't know, I saw something square, like a mirror...and then you both fell."

"A...mirror?" Shinjiro repeats, mind blanking.

"Yeah...in front of you." Ken mutters, suddenly remembering their circumstances, and he draws his shoulders in.

The atmosphere becomes uncomfortable and tense again, and the matter of the 'square mirror thing' falls back.

Takaya moans in pain.

Shinjiro looks back at the man, whose movements have slowed almost to a stop, and briefly contemplates kicking him in his wound.

But he's not that cruel, no matter how much the fucker deserves it.

"Shinji!"

Finally, a welcome intrusion. Shinjiro turns around to be greeted by the sight of a panicked, out of breath Akihiko rushing towards him.

And behind him, just entering the area, are the others.

"I'm fine." Shinjiro says before Akihiko can launch into a tirade.

Akihiko falters, and hunches over to catch his breath. "Shinji! What the hell were you..."

"Aragaki-senpai!" Junpei yells and skids to a stop right before he runs into Akihiko. He looks past them both at Ken. "Ken! Man, you two okay?"

Fuuka rushes past the trio to Ken first. "Ken-kun, are you alright?"

Ken shifts a little, not able to meet the girl's eyes. "I'm...yeah."

Fuuka breathes a sigh of relief, then turns around to ask Shinjiro the same question.

His reply is interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the gang.

Mitsuru looks equal parts scared and unamused, and Yukari stands off to the side, fidgeting nervously. "I would ask you what you think you were doing...but I'll refrain - for now." Her expression hardens. "Do not do anything like this again."

"Trust me, if you try to, I'll beat the shit out of you." Akihiko says, voice a little shaky, as he stands up straight.

Shinjiro snorts, feeling like a child being scolded by angry parents, and is about to retort in that vein when his eyes fall on _her_.

Minako hadn't run straight into the sphere of things like the others; instead she hangs back, several feet behind Mitsuru, hands fisted in her uniform skirt. Her expression is withdrawn, but her eyes are shiny and her lower lip is trembling. Koromaru circles around her legs, whining, and Aigis stands at her side, looking vaguely disconcerted.

Shinjiro feels the guilt pool in his stomach.

"H-hey..." Junpei says, eyes bugged out, "Look at Takaya."

"He's injured." Mitsuru remarks, frowning, and walks over to the Strega leader. Akihiko follows, lip curled in disgust.

"He is unconscious, most likely from a combination of blood loss and shock." Aigis says, having moved silently and rather speedily from Minako's side to join the two next to Takaya. She kneels down to inspect his wound. "It is safe to conclude that he was hit by a bullet from his own gun, since neither Ken-san nor Shinjiro-san have access to firearms at present."

Mitsuru purses her lips and glances over at Shinjiro, a questioning look on her face.

"I didn't shoot him." Shinjiro says matter-of-factly, "He shot at me, but it somehow bounced back to him."

"Then it ricocheted off of something." Aigis stands up, "Shinjiro-san, are you wearing a metal vest under your clothing?"

"...No."

"Strange. It could not have ricocheted off of wool."

"What if it was a Counter ability?" Fuuka interjects, "It is the Dark Hour, and Aragaki-senpai's persona could've countered the bullet like it can counter swords and arrows in Tartarus."

Well, damn. Was it that simple? And that's why Castor - that rat bastard - was laughing so smugly?

Shinjiro grimaced.

He owed it one now. Dammit.

"That is the most acceptable answer." Aigis says, and then looks down at Takaya, "Should we make an attempt to save him?"

"Yes. He is still human, and we can't just let a person die." Mitsuru replies, voice and expression neutral, "Plus, he may prove to be useful. We still don't know enough about Strega, and who better to tell us than the leader himself?"

Akihiko leans over Takaya and presses his gloved hands to the wound. "We can't get him to a hospital for another half hour. Will he last?"

"We can attempt to restore him somewhat with Diarama spells." Mitsuru says, readying her evoker to summon Penthesilia, "That won't heal his wound, but it'll buy him time."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Yukari readies her own evoker.

"Tch, he doesn't deserve it at all." Junpei says, mouth twisting in anger, as Penthesilia and Io begin casting a barrage of healing spells. "But I guess as the good guys we can't really let him die in front of us."

Fuuka makes a sound of agreement, her hands resting on Ken's shoulders.

Shinjiro looks away from the scene, allowing his gaze to drift back to Minako, who's still standing at a distance with Koromaru. And staring at him.

She's squared her shoulders and no longer looks like she's ready to cry - and thank god for that - but the look on her face is unreadable.

They'll probably have a lot to talk about once they get back to the dorm.

Hell, all of them will. Especially regarding Ken.

But for now, Shinjiro just sighs, and turns to blankly stare at graffiti.

* * *

"He's been admitted to Tatsumi Memorial." Mitsuru says as she steps into the lobby, Akihiko in tow, "He's in surgery, and it may be a while before he wakes up...but the doctors don't think he's in any danger of dying anymore."

Junpei frowns and sits up, putting his game away, "He's way too close to Chidori."

"Don't worry." Akihiko says, "We won't keep him there for too long, but he's going to be several floors above her and there's going to be guards around him at all times as long as he is."

Yukari speaks up next, "Won't Chidori be able to sense him?"

"The suppressants are taking care of that." Mitsuru assures, and Junpei slumps back in his seat.

"Man, this is just so stressful." He mutters, running a hand over his face, "I'm gonna go visit her tomorrow."

Akihiko smiles mildly, "That's a good idea, Junpei. She could use that distraction."

Junpei's grin comes back into place and he sits up confidently, "Yeah, that's right! With me and my big mouth, no friggin' hobo jesus is gonna be able to bother her!"

"Yeah, her head'll be too full of you rambling about how you topped your own scores in that video game or how you mastered the perfect way of eating cup noodles to spare a thought about Takaya." Yukari offers dryly.

"Hey now, don't undermine my achievements, Yuka-tan!"

Fuuka giggles, half in amusement and half in relief. Koromaru barks, tail swishing.

Things are more or less normal, at least in the atmosphere of the lounge.

But there's still issues that need to be resolved.

Mitsuru glances sideways at Akihiko, and he doesn't need words to understand. The two of them leave the juniors and head up the stairs.

Yukari watches them as they go, and then sighs. "I wonder how Ken-kun is doing."

"He seemed shaken." Fuuka says, chewing on her lower lip, "He said he was going to sleep when I dropped him off at his room."

"That kid did something really stupid today." Junpei grumbles, not unsympathetically, and then he chuckles nervously, "I mean, I guess so did Aragaki-senpai - with the not telling us and all - uh..."

Fuuka nods, "It was just bad decisions all around."

"Well, we have to be glad that things turned out okay." Yukari says, "I mean, imagine how bad it could've gone?"

The room grows quiet for a minute.

Junpei vigorously shakes his head, "I don't even wanna think about it, man!"

"Y-yeah." Fuuka says, "Let's focus on what we should do now." Yukari nods in agreement.

After a moment, Junpei grins. "I bet Sanada-senpai is gonna sit the two of them down and lecture them for hours."

Yukari laughs, trying to envision the scene. "Oh, I can just see their faces."

"Yeah, and after Sanada-senpai is done, it'll be Kirijo-senpai's turn."

Fuuka clamps a hand over her mouth, giggling. "I feel bad for them now!"

Koromaru yips excitedly.

"Oh yeah, and Koro-chan will bite them for being idiots." Junpei leans down to pat the dog on the head, "Won't you, Koro-chan?"

Koromaru barks, ruby eyes twinkling.

* * *

Minako pokes at her side and grimaces when pain shoots through her body. While the Fortune shadow hadn't been hard to take down at all, gimmicks aside, the Strength one had nearly totaled the party in the beginning.

It would've been easier if Shinjiro had been there.

She shakes her head, and pushes the bathroom door open, and just barely catches a glimpse of the command room doors shutting behind what looks like Akihiko.

She shuffles a little bit as voices begin to sound behind the doors, transferring her dirtied school uniform to her left arm, and then continues as quietly as she can to the third floor.

She hitches to a stop at the foot of the stairs just as he's finished climbing up the stairs from the second floor.

They stare at each other.

Shinjiro awkwardly adjusts his beanie with one hand, the other shoved into his coat pocket as usual.

"Uh. Hey."

Minako chews on her lower lip, averting her eyes. "Hey."

"...How are you?"

"Oh, dandy."

He winces at the sarcastic edge in her voice, shoulders slumping.

She almost feels sorry for him, but catches herself before she allows it to show on her face.

"Listen, Minako." He begins, and then stops and grits his teeth. He takes a few steps closer to her. "I..."

"What?" she asks when he pauses again, studying his face.

"I'm...sorry."

"Okay." Minako turns and stalks past the stunned man, heading toward her room. A strong grip on her arm pulls her back, and she makes a sound of irritation.

"What the hell was that?" Shinjiro demands, scowling. She mirrors his expression.

"What? What more were you expecting?"

"Listen - I understand you're angry, alright. And you definitely have a right to be angry."

She snorts, "At last, you got something right."

Shinjiro growls in frustration. "For fuck's sake, Minako, at least hear me out."

"I've always been willing to hear you out, Shinji." Minako says, staring up at him scornfully, "I would've heard anything you had to say, and I would've helped you with any problem you had."

His anger ebbs away, and his face crumples. He removes his hand from her forearm, and it drops limply at his side.

"You knew that, right?" she continues, "I've always been here for you, but you didn't even consider telling me what was going on."

“I messed up.” he says after a pause. “I messed up real bad. I get that.”

“Do you?” she says, then stops and takes a deep breath. “Do you realize what could’ve happened?”

“I went there expecting it.”

“And what about _me_?” she asks. She can feel the tears pricking at her eyes and she can see the helplessness in his. “How could you just forget about everything we have?”

“I never felt like I deserved what we have, Minako.”

“And you made the decision to throw it all away.” The tears are flowing now. She makes no effort to stop them. “A part of me would’ve died with you, Shinji. Maybe most of me would’ve died.”

Shinjiro’s hands tremble. “Minako...”

“When I told you I loved you that day, I wasn’t fucking around. If you think this is some dumb crush, well---”

“Never.” He cuts in, his voice rough. “I’ve never thought that, ever.”

“Then please treat me like you take me seriously.” She whispers. “Treat my love like it means something to you.”

“It means everything.”

“Then stay with me, Shinji. Don’t leave, ever again.”

His arms come up, encircling her, pulling her in and she lets herself fall into him. She can feel something in him moving, shifting, breaking, passing through her when it leaves him. He leans on her, as if he doesn’t have the energy to stand on his own feet anymore. She holds him tightly to herself, like she can anchor his soul to hers if she holds on hard enough.

He doesn’t say anything, but she knows that he won’t leave again.

**End**

**Author's Note:**

> According to the details of the text file, I started writing this in July 2014. [It was almost certainly the fault of this gifset](https://terrabrannford.tumblr.com/post/152973463488/ta-to-ba-jvnpei-heh-bring-it-on-are-you).
> 
> A lot of things have changed in my life since then, and so has my writing style, but since I wrote about 3000 words of this before conking out, I decided to dust this off and pick it back up. In 2019.
> 
> I know I fudged the placements and movements in the first half bc I saw the graphically scaled down P3P version of events and honestly was too eager to write to stop and study movements in a Youtube vid of the OG P3 version of things. And there's details in the rest of it that can use some fine tuning, but my knowledge of P3 is rusty rn.
> 
> I still hope it's at least a fun read if nothing else!


End file.
